memeorandum: Rick Perry calls fallen soldiers phone call controversy “asinine” (CBS News)

6:50 PM ET, October 18, 2017

Top Items:

Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 in a call, but didn't follow through — President Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Political Wire, Mother Jones, Mediaite, IJR, Politicus USA, Business Insider, Balloon Juice, Mashable, Raw Story, Task & Purpose and The Guardian

Washington Post:

Trump disputes account of his call with soldier's widow. But congresswoman who heard exchange says it was ‘horrible.’ — President Trump in a tweet Wednesday denied that he had told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Africa this month that her husband “must have known what he signed up for.”

Discussion: Shareblue Media, New York Post, The Hill, Daily Wire, The Sentinel Newspapers, Associated Press, miamiherald, Task & Purpose, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Washington Monthly, Fox News Insider, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, Refinery29, IJR, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, neo-neocon, TheBlaze, Business Insider, National Review, New York's PIX11, WTVR-TV, CBS New York, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, WFLA-TV, FOX6Now.com, Hullabaloo, Politicus USA, Little Green Footballs, NBC News, WPLG-TV, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, WHNT-TV, Mashable, ABC News, twitchy.com, The Daily Signal, RedState, The Resurgent, New York Times, Mediaite, AOL, KTLA, Conservative News Today, MSNBC, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, Daily Kos, CNBC, Politico, Mother Jones, Deadline, Political Wire, New York Magazine, Vox and Balloon Juice

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

White House staff drafted Niger sympathy statement for Trump that was never released — Staffers at the National Security Council drafted and circulated a statement of condolence for President Donald Trump to make almost immediately after a deadly ambush of U.S. soldiers in Niger earlier this month.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Axios, New York Times, Business Insider, ABC News, Mediaite, NBC News, CNN, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

CNN:

Sources: Kelly didn't know Trump would publicize that Obama didn't call when his son died — Trump: Ask Kelly if Obama called about son — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Trump waited nearly two weeks to call the families of four soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, The Last Tradition, KTLA and RedState

Associated Press:

Trump and the new politics of honoring war dead — https://apnews.com/d3bf716591bd49d4a8a8 6f229efe900f — Link copied! — WASHINGTON (AP) — After her Army son died in an armored vehicle rollover in Syria in May, Sheila Murphy says, she got no call or letter from President Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, RedState, Hullabaloo, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Father of fallen soldier wants to join Twitter to call Trump a ‘damn liar’ — The father of a soldier killed in Iraq said he wants to create a Twitter account so he can call President Trump a “damn liar” after Trump didn't contact him following his son's death, according to The Washington Post.

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and IJR

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump just said his comment to a war widow was ‘fabricated.’ In an interview, the witness pushes back.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller, McClatchy Washington Bureau, No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, The Hill, Bloomberg, Business Insider, NBC News, AOL, The Atlantic, Deadline, CNN, Raw Story and Daily Wire

Media Matters for America:
Laura Ingraham: Congresswoman present for Trump call to military widow should be ignored because of her hat

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and The Daily Caller

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump doubles down; says he didn't make controversial remark to widow

Discussion: ABC News

Kevin Collier / BuzzFeed:

Twitter Was Warned Repeatedly About This Fake Account Run By A Russian Troll Farm And Refused To Take It Down — The account was one of hundreds created by Russia's Internet Research Agency and drew 136,000 followers by tweeting divisive messages in the name of the Tennessee Republican Party.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Meduza, more at Mediagazer »

Casey Michel / ThinkProgress:
Trump personally thanked fake Twitter account linked to Russia

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and AOL

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Poll: 46 percent think media make up stories about Trump — Nearly half of voters, 46 percent, believe the news media fabricate news stories about President Donald Trump and his administration, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. — Just 37 percent of voters think the media …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Telegraph, The Hill, Axios, Business Insider, Liberal Values, Media Matters for America, NewsBusters, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Vox, AOL, Political Wire, Conservative News Today, Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Democrat Northam has seven-point edge over Republican Gillespie in Virginia gubernatorial race — Virginia voters give Ralph Northam better personal ratings and prefer him on the issues — and that puts the Democrat ahead of Republican Ed Gillespie in the governor's race.

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:
Trump strategist quits Gillespie campaign for Va. governor, sources say

Discussion: Political Wire

Anna Palmer / Politico:

Frail and disoriented, Cochran says he's not retiring — Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran insists that he is not retiring from Congress, despite widespread speculation about the veteran lawmaker's health and political future. — The 79-year-old Cochran appeared frail and at times disoriented during …

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

Nash Jenkins / TIME:

Senate Candidate Roy Moore Says NFL Protesters Are Breaking the Law — Senate candidate Roy Moore believes that professional athletes who take a knee during the national anthem are breaking the law. — In an interview with TIME magazine, the Alabama Republican argued that NFL players …

Discussion: CNN, Hit & Run, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, his vorpal sword, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Daily Caller, The Hill and New York Magazine

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:

A Judge Just Ordered The Trump Administration To Allow An Undocumented Teen To Get An Abortion — A federal judge ordered federal officials to allow the teen to travel to an abortion provider “promptly and without delay.” The 17-year-old Jane Doe at the center of the case is approximately 15 weeks pregnant.

Discussion: The Hill

Fenit Nirappil / Washington Post:

Black candidate omitted from Democratic campaign fliers in Virginia — In this Sept 4, 2017 photo, Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, right, talks during a Democratic breakfast, with Attorney General Mark Herring, sitting from left, gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times: Obama Returns to Campaign Trail to Rally Black Voters

Alayna Treene / Axios:

Paul Ryan comes out against Alexander-Murray health care bill — House Speaker Paul Ryan's press secretary, Doug Andres, told Axios Wednesday that despite the bipartisan push behind the Alexander-Murray health bill , “The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate …

Discussion: USA Today, Vox, Washington Post, The Incidental Economist, Balloon Juice, Hit & Run, TheStreet, AOL, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The Mahablog, Chris Jacobs on Healthcare, CNBC, The Federalist, RedState and ACA Signups

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Alexander: Trump engineered the bipartisan health bill

Discussion: The Guardian, CNBC, Daily Kos, Vox and Washington Free Beacon

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Trump appears to back further away from bipartisan health-care push

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo and New York Magazine

Bloomberg:

Facebook and Google Helped Anti-Refugee Campaign in Swing States — The big tech companies worked closely with Secure America Now to target an audience the group felt could be swayed by the message. — In the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign, voters in swing states including Nevada …

Discussion: New York Magazine and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Linda Bloodworth Thomason / Hollywood Reporter:

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason: Lessons from Witnessing Four Decades of Harassment in Hollywood (Guest Column) — The creator of ‘Designing Women’ and Clinton confidant details horrific stories of sexual impropriety and abuse of power ("The No. 1 casting criterion for an actress is that she be 'hot and f …

Discussion: RedState, Instapundit, NewsBusters, The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

CBS News:

Rick Perry calls fallen soldiers phone call controversy “asinine” — For more of the interview with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, watch CBSN or listen to “The Takeout” podcast Friday. — Energy Secretary Rick Perry thinks the controversy begun by President Trump over the treatment …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Baltimore Sun:

5 shot, 3 dead in Maryland business park, gunman on the run, Harford sheriff says — Three people have died and two are injured in a shooting at an Edgewood area business park, the Harford County sheriff said Wednesday. (Courtesy video) — Shooting in Emmorton business park in Edgewood area.

Discussion: CNN, WTTG-TV, Business Insider, RedState, IndieWire, Sputnik International, NBC News, The Daily Caller and Decider

ESPN:

NFL ratings continue fall, latest Nielsen numbers show — Through the first six weeks of the NFL season, total viewership of games is down 7.5 percent, compared with the first six weeks of 2016. — An average of 15 million people watched games for the first six weeks this year …

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, New York Times, NPR, NBC News, CNBC, The Guardian, Deadline, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, ProFootballTalk, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mashable, Associated Press and Washington Times

Carrie Levine / Center for Public Integrity:

Republican lawmakers' posh hideaway bankrolled by secret corporate cash — Bank records: Comcast, Microsoft, Koch helped fund GOP convention ‘cloakroom’ — Donald Trump declared last year in his populist presidential nomination acceptance speech that he's “not able to look the other way” …

Discussion: Political Wire

USA Today:

Real death toll in Puerto Rico is probably 450 — much higher than official count — Three weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, we've seen images of the destruction and heard stories about the lack of electricity and basic supplies like food and water in some areas.

Discussion: CNN and Daily Kos

Tom Dreisbach / NPR:

A Trump Golf Course Said It Gave Millions To Charity. Here's What The Numbers Say — Throughout his presidential campaign and since, President Trump has made bold assertions about his charitable giving. But as the Washington Post has thoroughly documented, those boasts of philanthropy don't always stand up to scrutiny.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Eagerness to Go on TV Has Warped the Liberal Media, Glenn Greenwald Tells TV Host — Glenn Greenwald has been dismissing reports of Russian interference in the election on behalf of Donald Trump since the story first appeared, and the massive accumulation of evidence has not dissuaded …

The Clarion Ledger:

JPS school honoring Jefferson Davis to be renamed after Barack Obama — A predominately black public school in Mississippi named after Jefferson Davis will have its Confederate tied namesake stripped next year and replaced with the title of another president whose character students …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, Mississippi Today, The Daily Caller, AOL and IJR

Bloomberg:

Trump Tells EPA to Halt Ethanol Quota Changes — Market for biofuel credits rebounds after lawmakers weigh in — Governor calls conversation with Trump ‘positive & productive’ — White House officials have directed the Environmental Protection Agency to stand down on efforts to weaken …

Discussion: Axios and The Daily Caller

The Hill:

FBI informant blocked from telling Congress about Russia nuclear corruption case, lawyer says — An American businessman who worked for years undercover as an FBI confidential witness was blocked by the Obama Justice Department from telling Congress about conversations and transactions …

Discussion: Infowars, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire and RedState

Laura Donnelly / Telegraph:

NHS provokes fury with indefinite surgery ban for smokers and obese — The NHS will ban patients from surgery indefinitely unless they lose weight or quit smoking, under controversial plans drawn up in Hertfordshire. — The restrictions - thought to be the most extreme yet to be introduced …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and National Review

NBC News:

Putin Rival Ties Kushner Meeting to Kremlin Bankers — A prominent exiled Russian oligarch said in an exclusive interview with NBC News that he is nearly certain Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to collaborate with the Trump campaign, and that he believes a top Russian banker was not …

Discussion: Shakesville, Last Men and OverMen and Mediaite

Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:

Roy Moore's Foundation Received A $1,000 Donation From A Nazi Group In 2005 — The Foundation to Defend the First Amendment was founded by avowed white supremacist Willis Carto. — WASHINGTON In 2005, the foundation run by Judge Roy Moore, now the Republican nominee for a Senate seat in Alabama …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and ThinkProgress